Countdown
by Irish Rose1
Summary: The twenty-four hours is almost up for Clark and Lois. Will they be able to hold out until then? 2 of 3.


She'd never told anyone about Oliver's trouble with real intimacy, even though it was something that had dogged their relationship. And of all people to tell, she never thought it would have been Clark.

But seeing Lana at the lake, it struck Lois for the first time that the man she was starting to care for as more than her friend had slept with her. And it shouldn't have bothered her, but it did.

And _that _bothered her.

The house was quiet and she could already feel the absence of Mrs. Kent as she walked in. The warmth that she seemed to effortlessly spread throughout the farmhouse was missing and it made Lois miss her even more than she already did.

She was looking forward to the day that Martha Kent would come home, once and for all and she knew that Clark was looking forward to it too. He never said as much to her, but she knew how deeply he felt his mother's absence.

She looked at her watch as she walked upstairs and noted that there was still five hours before her hand's off policy expired. But at least they would be together when it did.

At the moment, though; she was tired. But as tired as she was, she really wanted to take a shower. She wanted to start from scratch, to start fresh when he took her out to dinner.

As Lois continued up she suddenly stopped, turned around and walked back down the stairs because something had finally registered in her mind.

She walked into the living room, through the kitchen and stopped in the dining room and it was obvious to her that Mrs. Kent had planned on them eating at home that evening.

She had delayed her departure until after Clark and Lois had left for the lake, and now she understood why. The table was set for a romantic dinner for two and she smiled as she picked up a note from the table. 'Trust your heart honey and trust his.'

It's what she'd said after Clark brought her back from the fair the night before.

She turned and walked into the kitchen and there was another note on the island. Mrs. Kent had left information on what she'd prepared and instructions on when to heat everything.

The knot of apprehension that had settled in her chest when she saw Lana started to loosen and Lois began to relax. They had Mrs. Kent in their corner and that made her feel much better.

She took the stairs from the kitchen and went back up, determined to put the afternoon behind her with a hot shower. Clark used to comment about her marathon showers but what she never told him was that she'd done it mostly to annoy him. And it had always worked.

She didn't take long and couldn't help but smile about that as she walked out of the bathroom and into Mrs. Kent's room. She dressed in a pair of shorts and one of Clark's tee shirts because it was big and comfortable but most importantly, it was _his_.

She toweled her hair on the way back to the bathroom, to hang the towel up, and when she came out Clark was at the top of the stairs smiling at her. "I was starting to wonder where those were going."

"Well now you know." She could feel her face warm with embarrassment, but she wasn't sure from what exactly. Getting caught in a pilfered shirt or having divulged to him earlier a very personal detail about her life.

"That's okay, they look better on you anyway." His smile turned to a grin. "Is the bathroom free?"

"It's all yours." She nodded. "I'm going to lay down for awhile."

He nodded in answer. "Have you been in the kitchen?"

"Apparently, your mother changed our dinner plans." She nodded again. "I never would have taken her for playing Cupid."

And then _his_ face flushed as he shrugged. "She remembers what it feels like, and I think it helps her feel closer to Dad."

"I guess there are some loves you never get over." Lois observed, not meaning anything more than Mrs. Kent's unwavering love for her husband.

"And there are _some_ loves that take you too long in getting over, but you do." He commented softly and she knew he was talking about Lana.

"Yes, you do." She caught his eye, nodding in agreement and hoped he understood that she was referring to Oliver.

"'It seems that the road for some always leads back here, and others leave the porch light on for them.'" Lois frowned in confusion; it wasn't like Clark to be cryptic. "Oliver told me that the night he stopped by to talk to you. He was talking about us, but I wasn't ready to hear it."

"Are you ready now?"

"I'm not sure, but I don't want to ignore it either." He sighed. "Do you?"

"No."

He took a couple of steps toward her and she had to stem the urge to back up. "Lois, how do you feel about me?"

_Crap_! He _would_ ask her that. "I don't know, exactly."

He frowned and Lois sighed.

"Well, do you like me; just a little?" He raised his eyebrows at her hopefully.

"I like you more than just a little Smallville." She conceded and posed the same question to him. "How do you feel about _me_?"

"I like you a lot." He blushed like the shy teenager she remembered when she first came to Smallville. "And I never thought I'd feel that way about you."

She couldn't remember ever wanting to kiss someone so much before. He was so sweet and she could see the sincerity in his face; and they still had four hours.

They'd come to an odd stand off with each other, standing mere feet away and bound by a promise not to touch; and it was Clark who ended it. "Why don't you go get some rest while I get cleaned up? Then we can go back downstairs and see what Mom cooked for us?"

She nodded before she walked into Mrs. Kent's room and closed the door, then crawled up on the bed to lay down, feeling the sudden urge to sleep.

oooooo

Lois didn't have any idea how long she'd slept when she got the strangest feeling that she wasn't alone. And when she opened her eyes, she saw that she wasn't. Clark was stretched out next to her, laying on his stomach and rubbing a lock of her hair between his fingers.

He seemed to realize that she was awake because he looked up and smiled. She'd never seen eyes as blue as his and they held her gaze. "Hi."

"Clark, what are you doing?" She asked, trying to ignore the fluttering of her heart, because he was so close.

"Taking a nap?"

"Shouldn't you be doing that in _your_ room?" She wanted to frown but she couldn't because she was content to have him there.

"Probably." He nodded, but didn't seem to be in any hurry to move.

She glanced down at her hair in his fingers and sighed. "We agreed, no touching."

"I'm not touching _you_, Lois; I'm touching your hair." He grinned. "There's a difference."

"My hair is part of _me_, Smallville." She shouldn't have smiled at him, but she did.

"A technicality." He shrugged and then laughed softly. "I just miss you."

She couldn't bring herself to admit how much she missed him too. "What time is it?"

"A little after six, are you hungry?" Clark grinned again, seeming to understand her hesitance as he asked and she nodded. "We still have a date."

"Dressed like this?" She looked down at what she was wearing and he shook his head.

"I don't know about you, but _I_ plan on changing for dinner." He told her.

"Then you need to go to your room to do that." The temptation to reach over and brush the hair back from his forehead was strong. After all, he'd already stretched the rules, so why couldn't she? And without having to think about it for very long, the answer was pretty clear.

If she touched his hair all bets would be off, as she had no doubt they would end up necking on his mother's bed. And that wasn't going to happen.

"I will." He nodded, but refused to relinquish her hair or move.

"Clark?"

"What?" He seemed awfully interested with the hair he held and wouldn't look at her.

"You really need to get up now." _Because if you don't, I can't be held responsible._

"I know." He sighed before he let go, rolled over and sat up. "Lois?"

"What?" She reached over and grasped the edge of his tee shirt, to let him know she wasn't pushing him away.

His arms went down on his knees and then he ran a hand through his hair. "I've never felt this way before, about anyone." He looked utterly defeated and she knew her earlier lack of candor was part of the reason.

_Have some guts Lois_,she chided herself. He was being honest with her about how he felt and she owed him the same consideration. So she took a deep breath, to try and slow the sudden racing of her heart and tugged on his shirt to get his attention. "Clark?"

"What?"

"Please look at me." She asked him.

When he turned, he glanced down at where her hand was and Lois was relieved to see him smile. "I thought we agreed, no touching."

__

How did this always seem to happen to them?

"I'm not touching _you_; I'm touching your shirt." She smiled back at him.

"My tee shirt is part of _me_."

"A technicality." She laughed softly and then her mood sobered because she wanted him to know that she was serious. "Clark, I've never felt this way about anyone either and that scares me."

"It scares me too. But if we're scared together, maybe it won't be so scary." He shrugged and it made an odd kind of sense. "You told me that you fight your fear of the water by going into the water. Isn't this sort of the same thing?"

_It was_,and she nodded as she sat up.

"So when the twenty-four hours is up, give me your hand and I promise not to let go."

"You _are_ speaking metaphorically." She wondered, even though she knew what he really meant.

"Maybe." He leaned over and then stopped; closed his eyes and sighed. "Three hours."

"I know I've already said it, but thanks for doing this; most guy's wouldn't have." It seemed to be her turn in not wanting to let go.

"I'm not most guys Lois." He stood up slowly to give her the chance to let go of his shirt, which she reluctantly did. "So can you be ready by six fifteen or would six thirty be better?"

"You really need to ask?"

"Six thirty it is." He nodded and headed for the bedroom door. "Should I pick you up here or do you want to meet me downstairs?"

"I'll meet you down there."

"Okay." He agreed and as he opened the door, Lois decided to tell him something.

"Clark?"

He turned and looked at her curiously. "What?"

"I like you a lot, too." Her face burned with the admission and he rewarded her with a happy smile as his own face flushed in surprise. He couldn't have been expecting that.

"That wasn't so hard to say, was it?" His smile turned into a grin. "Thank you."

"Whatever." She shifted to the edge of the bed and stood up. "Now get out of here so I can get changed."

"Those really _do_ look better on you." He laughed as he walked out of the room and closed the door before she heard. "See you downstairs."

They didn't look so bad on _him_ either.

__

She'd actually said it.

She'd actually admitted to him that she liked him as more than her friend and it gave her the oddest feeling that their friendship had just taken a final turn into something deeper. And for the second time since Valentine's Day, they'd shared a bed together but this time around it didn't feel as awkward. It felt nice.

And that spelled trouble.

She walked to the closet and looked at what she had to wear. Mrs. Kent had encouraged Lois to take as much space as she needed because it would be a few months before _she_ moved home. She'd also told Lois to take a whole drawer if she wanted to.

'Please, make yourself at home.', Clark's mother had said.

Lois decided to wear the same dress she'd worn the night before, because he really seemed to like it. And after she changed out of Clark's tee shirt and her shorts and slipped into her dress, she made sure to put on the necklace Mrs. Kent had given her. It was gifted to her for luck, and she wanted all the luck she could get.

She fussed with her hair more than she ordinarily would have and studied her face critically in the dresser mirror before she sighed and put her hairbrush down. A glance at her watch told her that she needed to get down to the living room.

_Two and a half-hours._

oooooo

She thought the evening would drag, waiting for the twenty-four hours to come to an end; but it didn't. Because for the first time, Lois thought she was really getting to know him. Clark told her about his earliest memories of the farm, his father teaching him the finer points of milking a cow and learning to drive a tractor.

He started to laugh when he told her that he nearly took out the side of the barn as he tried to steer, and he _would_ have if his father hadn't been close by, keeping an eye on him. "I really miss him."

"I know you do." She nodded as she handed him the last of the dishes to dry. "I miss him too."

"I know you do." He took it from her and swiped it with a dish towel. "Mom always liked it when you came out here because it helped her miss him less."

"How did I do that?" _He couldn't be serious._

"By being you." He smiled at her as he put the dish away. "And it's helped me miss _her _less."

"If I'd known that I would have come out a lot sooner than I did, to harass you." She smiled back.

"Lana wouldn't have understood." Clark shook his head. "She always wondered how we could be friends, because we're so different."

"She didn't like me, did she?"

"It's not that." He shook his head again. "She just never got the chance to know you and that's my fault. You've been my friend and I haven't really treated you like one."

"Old territory Smallville, let's move on." Lois wasn't about to let him ruin what had turned out to be a really nice evening.

They'd worked together to get Mrs. Kent's meal ready to eat and once they had, sat down to a candlelit table. She could have done without them, but Clark had insisted. And since he didn't often insist on anything, she'd let him have his way.

They'd talked all the way through the meal, through clearing the table and washing the dishes together. In the four short years she'd known him, he'd never talked as much as he had that evening and Lois considered it a minor miracle.

"Fair enough." He agreed with a nod. "I don't want to look back any more, but I seem to keep going in that direction."

"You promised me earlier that if I gave you my hand, you wouldn't let go. Well that goes both ways." She told him. "If you really don't want to go back, I won't let you."

"Promise?"

"I promise." Lois assured him, then she glanced at her watch and smiled. "Since the dishes are done, let's go sit out on the swing; it's a nice night."

"Time's almost up, isn't it?" _Was it possible to hear a smile? _Because he _had_ to be.

"Five minutes." She tried not to sigh in relief as she looked at him to confirm it with a nod.

"Should I get the timer?" He laughed.

Lois shook her head. "I'll let you know."

"I hope so." He walked out of the kitchen and through the living room, stopped at the front door and opened it. "Are you coming? It's a nice night."

She followed him to the door and stepped outside. He reached back in and Lois wondered why, until the porch light went out and everything went dim.

"Getting a little ahead of yourself, aren't you?" She asked as the screen door closed behind them.

"A deal is a deal, Lois." She heard him. "I just thought that while we were waiting, we could look at the stars. That's one of the great things about living out here, you can see the stars a lot better than you can in town."

Lois could make out the porch swing in the dim light and sat down. Clark sat down next to her, probably closer than he should have and she felt his arm move across the back of the swing behind her. She'd never sat out on the swing in the evening and just listened before.

She heard crickets chirping, while the animals made noises in the barn as they settled down for the night. There were the sounds of an occasional car as it drove down the main road past the farm and then the feel on her face of a light breeze that began to stir.

It was a perfect summer evening and Lois couldn't remember ever feeling so content, or so scared. What was happening between them was serious and they both knew it.

The sudden chimes of the old Grandfather's clock in the living room startled her and Lois nearly held her breath as she counted off. Clark scoot closer to her and she could feel the heat from his body as his arm began to close in; she couldn't remember ever anticipating one kiss so much.

"Lois?" His voice was soft, and close.

"What?" She swallowed nervously as the last chime sounded and she started to shake.

"The twenty four hours is up." He stated the obvious as his lips brushed her ear.

"I know." She nodded.

"I'd really like to kiss you." He brushed her ear again.

"I know." She took his hand.

"Lois?" He squeezed her fingers and her heart skipped a beat; she'd missed the feel of his warmth.

"What?"

"We're not just friends anymore, you know that." _He was so close._

"I know." She nodded again. "Clark?"

"What?" He sounded as though he was trying not to laugh.

"The next time I come up with such a dumb idea, just kiss me." Their lips were a breath apart and his arm closed around her shoulders.

"I will." He promised with a nod, which brought his lips into feather light contact with hers. Lois frowned for a moment as he pulled his hand gently out of her grasp to get his other arm around her and whispered just before he kissed her. "I've really missed you."

Her senses nearly overloaded as she was reacquainted with the feel of his arms around her and how they roamed her back, trying to draw her as close as he could, against him. His warm lips were impatient for hers to kiss him back and as she did, could feel him smile. Her arms found their way around his neck and then her fingers into his hair. She felt the softness of it and Lois had the odd thought come to her that he needed a haircut.

Where had _that_ come from?

She heard a sigh of contentment as his lips left hers and brushed her cheek before they nuzzled her ear and slowly tracked down her neck. The sensation of it made her start in surprise and her heart tripped into double time because he'd never ventured any farther than her lips before. But then, they hadn't really known exactly where they stood before that evening. He stopped and pulled back. "Too much?"

Lois shook her head. "No. But I'd really like to continue this inside, preferably on the couch."

"It _would _be more comfortable." She could just make out a smile as he let her go and stood up before he held his hand out to her.

She took it and felt his firm grasp as he pulled her up next to him. He didn't let go of her hand as he walked her to the door and opened it, waiting for her to step inside. He followed her in and as the screen door closed behind them, led her into the living room.

"Clark?" She tugged on his hand to stop him.

"What is it?"

_Just tell him_._ "I missed you too, a lot."_

"You're getting pretty good at that, Lois." He grinned as he gripped her hand. "I know it's not easy."

"I've been hanging around _you_ too much, that's why." She tried to brush it off, but he was right.

"I hope you'll keep hanging around." Clark leaned over and kissed her. "Because I'd miss you if you didn't."

"I'm not going anywhere." She kissed him back, because she could. "You're stuck with me; so you'd better get used to it."

"I suppose I have to." He sighed dramatically and she didn't know whether to laugh or roll her eyes as he pulled her into his arms. "But I think I can live with it."

"I'm sure you can." She nodded as she put her arms around his neck and kissed him again as her fingers found their way back into his hair and then she leaned back. "You need a haircut."

His look was confused as she fingered it. "Haircut?"

"When's the last time you went to the barber?" Lois asked him. She felt his hands lightly caress her back and tried not to smile at his look of frustration as she cocked an eyebrow at him.

"I don't know." He shrugged. "I've been so busy around here I haven't had time."

"Maybe you should think about it?" She smiled.

"But if I did that, you'd have less to run your fingers through." He kissed her cheek. "Are you sure you want me to do that?"

She nodded. "If you wouldn't mind."

"Whatever you want." He grinned.

"Then what do you say about going back to the lake tomorrow? Just the two of us, with no chaperones."

"I like that idea." He nodded in agreement. "But I'd like it better if you kissed me. We've got twenty-four hours to make up for."

Lois liked that idea too, so she did.


End file.
